Sober and sedate way to help (5)
I believe the answer is:
staid
'sober and sedate' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'way to help' is the wordplay.
'way' becomes 'st'.
'to help' becomes 'aid' ('aid' can be a synonym of 'help').
'st'+'aid'='STAID'
(Other definitions for staid that I've seen before include "Very conventional and dull" , "Settled" , "Sedate; dull" , "Restrained (in character)" , "Sedate, unadventurous" .)